Establishment of the Watanabe Civic Society Fund

The Public Resource Foundation (headquartered in Chuo City, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takeshi Hisayasu) has received a generous donation of $7 million (approximately 1.1 billion yen) from Tetsuzo Watanabe, a philanthropist residing in the United States, and has established the 'Watanabe Civic Society Fund'.

Since its establishment in 2013, the Public Resource Foundation has accepted donations from individuals who share its mission of 'changing society through purposeful giving,' and has provided grants to NPOs and other organizations working toward social transformation.

This time, the foundation will launch the 'Watanabe Civic Society Fund,' using Mr. Watanabe’s donation as its principal. The fund will invest the capital and use the returns to permanently support NPOs and similar organizations engaged in 'systemic change'—efforts to transform the root causes of social issues. This fund will be the largest endowment-type (perpetual) fund managed by the foundation. The foundation will diligently manage the fund to realize its vision.

NPOs and similar organizations are now expected to propose sustainable and equitable models for Japan’s future society, particularly in the context of a declining population. The Watanabe Civic Society Fund will support organizations that clearly identify and share the structural causes of social problems and work to create new systems that directly address these challenges. The fund will implement grant programs to support NPOs in their continuous efforts to build a sustainable and equitable society. The fund is expected to gradually expand in scale.

Regarding this year’s grant program, application guidelines will be announced shortly, and applications will be accepted thereafter.

For more details about the 'Watanabe Civic Society Fund,' please visit the following page:

URL: https://www.public.or.jp/post/20260714

[Reference Information]

About the Public Resource Foundation (https://www.public.or.jp/)

The Public Resource Foundation is the only public interest foundation in Japan with extensive experience managing endowment funds from numerous donations. It maintains a database of trustworthy nonprofit organizations that have passed a donation-eligibility review through a public application process—the 'Donation-Eligible Certified Organization Database'.

Founded in 2000 as a nonprofit think tank, the NPO Public Resource Center, it has worked to strengthen the management of NPOs and other nonprofit organizations, supported corporate social responsibility initiatives including SRI (Socially Responsible Investment), and promoted donation activities such as online giving. In January 2013, building on its achievements and expertise, it relaunched as the 'Public Resource Foundation,' a public interest foundation dedicated to promoting philanthropy. Its mission is to 'change society through purposeful giving' by connecting individuals’ and corporations’ financial resources to social enterprises through various giving methods, including theme funds, Original Funds®, and bequests. It aims to create giving mechanisms that enrich lives and open new futures.

Since becoming a public interest foundation in 2013, it has received over 190,106 donations totaling more than 5.4 billion yen and has granted approximately 3.3 billion yen to 4,408 organizations (as of March 2025).